<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Worst Thing That Could Happen by AkisMusicBox</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653709">The Worst Thing That Could Happen</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox'>AkisMusicBox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Don't copy to another site, F/M, Kissing Games, Underage Drinking, high school party</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:28:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653709</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Akihiko finds himself at a high school party. Uncomfortable as he is, he can't just leave - he's the one who invited Minako along, after all. And how can she actually being enjoying herself?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arisato Minako/Sanada Akihiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Worst Thing That Could Happen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Senpai and Rio-chan need to switch seats!" Minako said with a gleeful glint that usually made Akihiko excited. Instead, Shinjiro's scoff turned Akihiko's stomach. "We've got to sit boy-girl-boy-girl!"</p><p>Shinjiro stood up. "Nah, I'm out."</p><p>Rio Iwasaki stood. "Well, if Aragaki-senpai doesn't want to, then..."</p><p>Without missing a beat, Minako gave Iwasaki a devilish look. "Then I'll get Kenji-kun to take his place."</p><p>"Senpai, switch me seats!" she exclaimed, and Akihiko felt Shinjiro jump at her intensity.</p><p><em>Why am I here? </em>Akihiko thought to himself. He should get up from the table, but the reason he had joined the group in the living room was to get away from those girls that followed him and tried to get him to join them in kissing games. It seemed like wherever he went, his peers were trying to play kissing games. The Pocky Game, Guess Who, Suck and Blow (which Shinjiro explained was actually passing around a card with your mouth), and now, one of the juniors had proposed Spin the Bottle. Quicker than he had fathomed possible, Minako had acquired a bottle and tore the label off to make it spin smoother. </p><p>His only saving grace so far was that Takeba wasn't at the table with them. That would have made half of the table S.E.E.S. members. </p><p><em>Why is Takeba here, anyway? </em>Akihiko had come at the behest of his boxing club members - they argued that the team's recent successes could be in jeopardy if they don't relieve some stress, and a house party was just the thing they needed. And Hongo's parents were out of town for the week...</p><p>
  <em>I suppose that it traveled through the grapevine in the practice building. I think I see other archers here as well.</em>
</p><p>Shinjiro was here because Akihiko asked him to be. He didn't want to show up by himself. Minako was here because he asked her as well, earlier that day, because he panicked and asked her to come. Because he was talking to her about her evening plans at breakfast, and she and Iwasaki were going to go to karaoke. He suggested that they come to the party instead. <em>"We can even walk together," </em>he said, forgetting that he had already asked Shinjiro. </p><p>A girl whose name he should know approached the bottle first. "Here we go!" She giggled and sent it spinning. It landed on Shinjiro, and the girl giggled again. </p><p>"Lucky trade," he murmured and stood, causing the girl to blush as she leaned over the table. They kissed, quickly, briefly, barely long enough to justify standing, but it caused the table to erupt in hoots and hollers. The ruckus lasted long enough to let Shinjiro drain about half of his beer, and the girl to sip from her cup demurely.</p><p>"Next!" Minako hollered, and the guy next to the last spinner stood. </p><p><em>Why does anyone think this is fun? I feel sick to my stomach. </em>But, hadn't he already started to feel sick, to feel that shaky, nervous energy when he agreed to come? And why did he agree? <em>This place is full of minors and alcohol; I should be trying to stop this. Mitsuru would be stopping this.</em></p><p>Minako took a small sip off of her bottle, some sort of lemonade drink that made her mouth pucker as a boy who Akihiko should have known as well took his turn. The empty bottle spinning menacingly on the table slowed and landed on Iwasaki. She stood abruptly, and despite her nervousness, didn't balk at leaning over and kissing the boy. <em>Did their mouths even touch? That didn't seem like anything. </em>He still didn't like it.</p><p>Miyamoto spun next and kissed the first girl, who acted she was an old hat at kissing random people at parties now. Minako was next. </p><p>He opened his mouth to say something, but the look in her eye told him her mind was already made up. She had to stand up to reach the bottle. His ears burned and it went round and round and...</p><p>...landed on Iwasaki. </p><p>"Come on!" Iwasaki said with a groan.</p><p>Minako stood and gasped with faux indignation. "Rude!"</p><p>They kissed.</p><p>"Captain!" Hongo called as he ran into the living room. "I need your help! Some kids from another school showed up and a fight broke out!" </p><p>He stood abruptly and called, "Shinji, come help," as he went to join Hongo. Shinjiro followed.</p>
<hr/><p>After they managed to throw the interlopers out of the house, Akihiko finally grabbed a beer and snuck away to the back porch for a moment of quiet. He winced at the malty taste, but he thought he understood the appeal of the practice. He found a patio table away from the glow emanating from the door and windows and slumped into a seat. A stack of Pocky boxes was piled in the middle. <em>I should just leave. </em></p><p>Only the faintest footsteps indicated Minako's approach, and she smiled softly as she did, lemonade drink still in hand. "Are you okay, Senpai?" </p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine. Didn't even have to throw a punch."</p><p>As she sat in the seat across from him, she gave him a knowing look, a look that was even more discerning with red eyes. "That's not what I'm talking about, I know you can handle yourself in a scrap. I talking about <em>this." </em>She gestured wildly as if referring to the entire house. </p><p>He sighed and set his beer on the table. " I just don't get it. How anyone can be comfortable with this. I just... don't belong here." <em>And you don't either. Someone is going to steal a kiss from you.</em></p><p>"Well, it's supposed to be fun. Low-stakes fun. It's not a big deal if you goof, cause you can blame the booze or the game. And in comparison to our day today worries, it's really like... pretending we're just normal teenagers." She took a drink and her lips puckered again. She then scrunched her nose. "I know, I shouldn't be, but... I am enjoying myself. It's fun for things just to be silly and tense and awkward for stupid reasons. I can at least pretend, just for a bit, that the worst thing that could happen to me is just kissing someone with a cold sore." She sighed and took another drink.</p><p><em>Oh. </em>"Well, I think that makes sense, but how... how? How do you..." His voice trailed off as the eerie green glow sunk the world into deafening silence once again. </p><p>Minako set her drink down. "Let's go check." He followed her into the house and weaved through the coffins in the kitchen and found Shinjiro and Takeba in the living room among a swath of coffins. </p><p>"What do we do?" Takeba asked, a bit disturbed. The quiet swallowing the once-cacophonous house was a bit unnerving.</p><p>"Check the house for anyone who might be living in their own personal horror movie right now," Minako said. "And after that... I guess we just wait. Can't all just have vanished when everyone wakes up."</p><p>Akihiko and Minako covered the rooms on the second floor and found a few suspicious coffins in the bedrooms, but no one on the outside. <em>Will their drinks be warm when they wake up? </em>The thought made him shiver, so he gestured for them to return outside when they were done. </p><p>She sat down in front of her drink and leaned her head back on the chair. She reached out to her drink and ran her thumb along the label, working away at a loose corner. Akihiko grabbed a box of Pocky, and, with shaky hands, ripped it open. The plastic packaging proved stubborn as well, and she only looked up when it was open. She didn't even lift her head all the way; it was more akin to a peek.</p><p>The biscuit felt fragile in his hands, almost unreal between his leather-clad fingers. "Do - do you..." </p><p>Her head lifted all the way, with a raised eyebrow cutting his words off. He blushed furiously and looked away.</p><p>He heard her chair scrape across the concrete and felt her hand touch his arm. "Let's play."</p><p>His face burned, but he managed to look up and stick the plain end between his lips. She leaned over and placed hers on the chocolate end. </p><p>"Ready?" she mumbled. He nodded, and they started nibbling. He broke away the minute he felt her exhale in on his skin, and she chuckled and devoured the rest of the stick in an instant. A smear of chocolate on her lower lip made him look away again. </p><p>"No, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have laughed, please, Senpai, that was fun!" His palms were sweating when she said, "Can we try again?"</p><p>"Y-yeah," he managed, eyes darting to the box. With a bit more steel in his voice, he said, "Again," and stuck the stick between his lips.</p><p>She smiled and grabbed the other end. His heart pounded in his ears when he felt her breath on his skin, but he didn't balk. It was as if he could feel the heat of her on him as they edged closer to one another. The biscuit snapped when their noses were a hair's breadth away. He couldn't see it, but the smear of chocolate on her upper lip was right <em>there</em>. </p><p>His tongue darted out and licked it.</p><p>They both jumped back as if he had no idea what he had done. <em>She's going to scream. She's going to hit me. </em>She was frozen, her cheeks burning. Her hand shakily moved towards her face. <em>She's going to cry, and I didn't even get all of it. </em></p><p>She touched the spot on her lip and came away with a small smear of chocolate on her finger.</p><p>She laughed.</p><p>The world started moving again.</p><p>He swallowed hard. </p><p>She reached out to the box and grabbed another stick between her first two fingers. "Again?" she asked and placed it in her mouth like a cigarette. </p><p><em>Shinji and Takeba could come out here at any moment if they're not already somewhere watching the show. </em>But, she seemed so free, and there was a lightness about her that had never had existed in the Dark Hour before. They were surrounded by coffins, but somehow, she acted like the party was still going.</p><p>"Again."</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>